Clamp for cylindrical objects



Aug. 19, 1952 A H. c. RUBLY 2,607,092

CLAMP FOR CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS Filed Deo.' 15, 1949 sl sheets-sheet 1 FIG. l

r "/NVENTOR 'I H. C. RUBLV ATTORNEY Aug. 19, 1952 H. c. RUBLY CLAMPFOR CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. l5, 1949 FIG. .5

.l 7 f/// O #ai /N VEA/IOR H. C. RUBLY ATTORNEY Aug. 19, 1952 H. c. RUBLY CLAMP FOR CYLINDRICAL. OBJECTS Filed DEC.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 /NVENTOR H C. RUBLY BY d g Patented Aug. 19, 1952 Y .1..

aeoizosaal CLAMP non CYLINDRICALGBJECTS Harry C. B-ubly, Millburn, N. J .,a'ssignor to Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated,

York, N. Y., a corporation of New. York Application December 15, 1949, Serial No, 133,141

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to clamping devices and more particularly to an adjustable clamp of the exible encircling band type intended for exerting uniform pressure on a cylindrical object.

One object of this invention is the provision of a flexible band clamp which may be quickly adjusted to fit the object which it surrounds, prior to its finally being secured in place. f

meansand operate securing means to tighten the band.

In :order to reduce the number of sizes of clamps required, it is desirable Ythat the bands be of such a length that theywill accommodate a wide range of diameters of' cylindrical objects. However, when the length of the band is somewhat greater than the circumference of the object to be clamped it is a tedious operation to operate the securing means to draw the band into contact with the object prior to the band actually constricting the object and exerting force thereon. It is therefore desirable that means be provided for making an initial quick adjustment `of' the band so that it may be readily brought into contact with the object and adjusted before the means for tightening the ban ,is operated. v

.The clamping device of this inventionv is intended to surround and exert uniform pressure on the periphery of a cylindrical object and comprises a flexible perforated metallic band Yhaving one free end. The other end is provided with a saddle member having a hinged housing in which is'rotatably mounted a worm which is arranged to engage the perforations in the metalv lic band 'and cause it to constrict when the worm is turned. The hinged housing has locking means associated therewith which permits the housing band to be slid along in the saddle in eitherwdirection to `provide' rough preliminary adjustment of the band. The housing may be then forced down to cause the worm to engage fthe perforations in the metal band and be locked in position by a locking means which is slidably mounted thereon. l' A.

Referring noWto the' drawing;

Fig. 1 is a plan view of theband securing means with a'portion of the encircling band positioned therein, and the securingv means closed' 'and fthe band securing meansdisclosed in Fig.l 1,

shown in elevation with portions broken away to Ashow the worm cooperating with vthe perforations in 'the'band 'f y Fig. Bis an end elevational viewfpartly in section taken along the line 3 -3 of Fig. 2, and in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 isa perspective view, partlyin section, of a 'fragment of a cable and an encircling sleeve With` the clamp of this invention in its initial position and the band securing means open;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 and shows the free end of the band inserted in the securing means prior to the closure thereof;

Fig 6 is a View similar to Fig. 5 and showsthe securing means closed down-on the band and the locking latch being closed to cause the worm to engage the perforations in the band;

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 and shows the v band securing means closed` andA loclred'and the worm being operated to constrict the vband and 'Y force the edges of the split sleeve together; and

Fig. 8 is a fragment of cable having a sleeve positioned thereon and held in place by a pair of clamps constructed in accordance with the to be opened, thereby disengaging the worm from the perforations in the band and permitting the present invention.V

As shown in the various figures of the drawings, one preferred embodimentof my invention comprises a flexible metal band 9 having avplurality of equally spaced transverse perforations Yl!) 10- cated along a portion of its length. The end l i of the band 9` is rigidly secured to the bottom portion of a saddlemember i2, which has a substantially U-shaped cross section and is provided on the top of yits upwardly extending walls I3 and I4 with longitudinally extending returnbend portions ||5 and lli-I6 to provide the central bores l1-l1 and l8-l8.

As shown in the various figures of the drawing and more in detail in Figs. l, 2 and 3 there is hingedly mounted in the 'bores Il-I'I of the portion l5-i5 of the walls i3, by means of the pin I9, a trough shaped housing 20.

R/otatably mounted in the housing and journaled in the ends 2l and 22 thereof is a worm 23, one end of which extends beyond the end 22 of the housing 20 and has secured thereto a wing portion 24, the rotation of which causes the Worm 23 to rotate either in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. In its open position the housing 20, as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, is swung upwardly under the influence of the slidable latching member 25, thereby preventing the worm 23 from engaging the perforations l0 in the band 9, thus permitting the free longitudinal movement of the band.

As shown in detail in Figs. l and 2, the housing 20 has secured, along one edge thereof, a longitudinally extending sleeve member 2S which has slidably mounted therein the longitudinally extending portion 21 of the latching member 25.

Located on the opposite side of the housing 20 and secured along the edge thereof, midway between the ends 2| and 22, is a sleeve member 28, which when the housing 29 is closed in its normal or operating position, as shown in Figs, 1, 2,

3, 6, 7 and 8, has the bore thereof in register with the bore inthe members ifi-i6 thereby permitting the longitudinally extending portion 29 of the slidable latch to pass therethrough and lock the housing 20 in its closed position with the worm 23 in engagement with the perforations i9 in the band 9, thereby causing any rotatable Vmovement imparted to the worm 23, by means of the wing 24, attached thereto, to be imparted to the band to either expand or constrict depending upon the direction of rotation of the wing 24.

While the clamp of this invention may nd a, wide field of usefulness and is not intended to be trestricted to any specific application, the applicant has found it to be particularly advantageous in the clamping of lead sleeves on communication cables preparatory to soldering the seam in the split sleeve. The following details of operation will be in respect thereto.

In the preparation of spliees in telephone cables and the like it is necessary after the individual conductors have been joinedrtogether and insulated from each` other, to Wrap insulating material over the splice and apply a metallic sleeve over the joint which will have its ends beaten down into contact with the cable sheath and solder wiped on each end to prevent the entrance of moisture.

- .Inthose instances Where it is necessary toruse a split sleeve, due to the fact that a regular sleeve cannot be slipped thereover, it is necessary to apply sufficient circumferential pressureto the sleeve to close the split and hold it closed during the soldering operation.

As shown in Fig. 4, the sleeve SL is in position on the cable CA with the band 9 of the clamp encircling it. It will be noted that the band 9 is positioned loosely around the sleeve SL with its free end spaced away from the securing means, which comprises'the worm 23, the housing 2U, and the other components as heretofore described inthe detailed description of the clamping device. As shown, the latching member 25 has been withdrawn thereby permitting the portion 29 thereof to become disengaged from the sleeve 25 on the housing 29 and permitting the housing 20 to rise upwardly, under the inuence of the latch 25 and disengage the worm 23 from the perforations l0 in the band 9.

The next step, as shown in Fig. 5, is to press the band 9 rmly into contact with the sleeve SL and position the free end thereof under the housing 29 thereby positioning the band snugly about the sleeve SL.

The third step, as shown in Fig, 6, is to apply pressure to the top of thehousing 29 to cause the worm 23 to engage the perforation l0 in the band 9. With the housing down in position and the sleeve 28 thereon in alignment with the bore i8 in the member i6 the latch 25 is pushed inwardly to lock the worm 23 in engagement with the perforations I0 in the band 9.

The last step, as shown in Fig. 7, is to rotate the wing 24 in a clockwise direction. This causes the worm 23, which is in engagement with the perforations I0 in the band 9, to exert constricting pressure on the band 9 thereby causing the abutting edges of the split sleeve SL to be forced Iinto intimate engagement with each other as shown.

What is claimed is:

1. A clamp for embracing cylindrical objects, comprising a perforated meta-l band, a separable housing located on said band comprising upper and lower portions, a rotatable worm member journaled in said upper portion and in engagement with the perforations in said band, the upper portion of said housing hingedly supported on said lower portion of said housing along one longitudinally extending edge thereof to permit the Worm to be swungv radially upward to disengage it from the band, and means in engagement with the upper and lower portions of said housing for locking said upper portion closed to maintain said worm in engagement With the perforations in said band.

2. A clamp for embracing cylindrical objects, comprising a perforated metal band, a separable housing located on one end of said bandcomprising upper and lower portions, a rotatable worm member journaled in said upper portion and in engagement with the perforations in said band, the upper portion of said housing hingedly supported on said lower portion of said housing along one longitudinally extending edge to permit the worm to be swung radially upward to disengage it from the band, means in engagement with the upper and lower portions of said housing for locking said upper portion closed to maintain said worm in engagement with the perforation in said band, and means on said worm member extending beyond the upper portion of said housing for rotating said Worm member.

3. A clamp for embracing cylindrical objects, comprising a metal band having a plurality of transverse perforations along its length, a saddle member secured to one end of said band, a separable housing comprising upper and lower portions, secured to said saddle, the upper portion of said housing hingedly supported along one longitudinal edge thereof, a rotatable worm journaled in the upper portion of said housing in engagement with the perforations in said band, the upper portion of said housing adapted to be swung upwardly to permit the worm to be disengaged from the perforations in the band, and slidable means located ale-ng the opposite longitudinally extending edge of said housing and said saddle for maintaining the upper portion of said 5 6 housing in a closed position With the Worm-in en- Number Name Date gagement with the perforations in the band. 1,343,006 Sauvage June 8, 1920 HARRY C. RUBLY. 1,992,505 Prosky Feb. 26, 1935 2,189,172 Hathorn Feb. 6, 1940 REFERENCES CITED 5 2,268,211 Hathorn' Dec. 30, 1941 The following references are of record in the 345,832 PltChaTd A101'- 4, 1944 fue of patent: North et al Oct. 9, 2,395,273 Hill et 9,1. Feb. 19, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,504,836 H111 Apr. 19, 1950 Number Name Date 10 493,336 Mead et 911 Mar. 14, 1893 FOREIGN PATENTS 737,996 Bullard sept. 1J 1903 Number Country Date 953,766 Schulte Apr. 5, 1910 602,458 Great Britain May 27, 1949 1,146,995 Bossert July 20, 1915 

